The Duke football program has now turned into a true contender in the ACC following its third straight victory on the road over California. Now 4-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play, the Blue Devils are at the top of the ACC standings with Virginia. The Blue Devils put on an offensive clinic from the second quarter on after a slow start, dropping 38 unanswered points on the Golden Bears after finding themselves in a 21-7 deficit to ultimately take a 45-21 victory. Quarterback Darian Mensah has continued to improve throughout the season, and Duke freshman running back Nate Sheppard is starting to look like one of the best running backs in the entire conference after he took over the backfield.
Duke freshman running back Nate Sheppard is turning into one of the ACC's biggest breakouts
The Duke backfield was supposed to be run by veteran Jaquez Moore. However, over the last few weeks, freshman Nate Sheppard has come in and completely taken over the run game for Manny Diaz. Sheppard has led the Blue Devils in carries over the last three games and is now the bell-cow RB1. Against the Golden Bears, Sheppard tallied 12 carries for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns. His big-play ability has made him one of the biggest offensive threats the Blue Devils have.
On the season, Sheppard has run for 447 yards and four touchdowns on 56 carries. The former three-star recruit has also hauled in 14 receptions for 102 receiving yards and a score.
The Blue Devil rookie now ranks third in the ACC in rushing yards despite ranking 11th in total attempts. His 8.0 yards per carry average also leads the conference, and his four rushing touchdowns rank fifth.
There have been few backs in the nation with the big-play ability that Sheppard has put on display through his first six games in a Blue Devil uniform. The Louisiana native has posted at least one run of 35 or more yards in three of his six games this season.
The freshman has cemented himself as the leader in this backfield, and it can be expected that his carries will only increase given his consistency as the true RB1.